A 2 million year glacial chronology of the Hatherton Glacier
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TitleA 2 million year glacial chronology of the Hatherton Glacier, Antarctica and implications for the size of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet at the last glacial maximumAbstractA series of distinct glacial deposits flanking the margins of the upper Hatherton Glacier, an outlet glacier in the central Transantarctic Mountains, are used to constrain the behaviour of the Antarctic ice-sheets. Cosmogenic exposure ages of 18 erratics from four glacial drifts covering the ice free Dubris and Bibra valleys, range in age from 5 to 1997ka. Our results document four glacial advance and retreat events superimposed on an overall long-term ice thickness reduction of about 500m since the mid-Pleistocene. The lack of field evidence and absence of LGM exposure ages in the glacial deposits of the Hatherton Glacier supports our conclusion that at the LGM the East Antarctic Ice Sheet was of similar size, or may have been slightly smaller, than present. Minimum exposure ages from the oldest two glacial events, represented by the Isca and Danum drifts, are ~ 1-2Ma and ~ 0.5Ma respectively. The Britannia-II Drift, previously assumed to mark the maximum extent of the Last Glacial Maximum advance, has a mean 10Be age of 126+-3.2ka (n=5). Ages from the younger Britannia-I Drift suggest that since the mid-Holocene (6.5+-1.2ka, n=5), approximately 200m of additional ice has been lost.
Copyright 2013 Elsevier Ltd.AcknowledgementsThis research was funded by grants from Antarctica New Zealand for logistic support, the Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering and ANSTO's CcASH Project (to DF) for AMS measurements (AINGRA09009). We thank Rob Spiers and James Oram at the University of Canterbury cosmogenic preparation lab and Charles Mifsud and Toshiyuki Fujioka at ANSTO. We also thank David Sugden and Gary Wilson for their constructive comments which greatly enhanced the final manuscript. KJ also thanks AINSE, Helicopters NZ and Gateway Antarctica for their post-graduate research scholarships.
Copyright 2013 Elsevier Ltd.AcknowledgementsThis research was funded by grants from Antarctica New Zealand for logistic support, the Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering and ANSTO's CcASH Project (to DF) for AMS measurements (AINGRA09009). We thank Rob Spiers and James Oram at the University of Canterbury cosmogenic preparation lab and Charles Mifsud and Toshiyuki Fujioka at ANSTO. We also thank David Sugden and Gary Wilson for their constructive comments which greatly enhanced the final manuscript. KJ also thanks AINSE, Helicopters NZ and Gateway Antarctica for their post-graduate research scholarships.
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1st AuthorJoy, K.AuthorJoy, K.Fink, D.Storey, B.Atkins, C.Year2014JournalQuaternary Science ReviewsVolume83Pages46-57DOI10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.10.028KeywordsAntarcticaCosmogenicCosmogenic exposureEast antarctic ice sheetsGlacial chronologyGlacial depositsIce sheetLast Glacial Maximum, DepositsGlaciers, Glacial geology, age determinationaluminumberyllium isotopecosmogenic radionuclidegeochronologyglacial depositglacial historyHoloceneice free corridorice sheetLast Glacial Maximum, AntarcticaEast AntarcticaHatherton GlacierTransantarctic Mountains, rank5Author KeywordsAntarcticaCosmogenic 10Be and 26Al exposure datingEast Antarctic ice sheetHatherton GlacierReduced last glacial maximum ice sheet volume
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TypeArticleCitationJoy, K., Fink, D., Storey, B. and Atkins, C. (2014). A 2 million year glacial chronology of the Hatherton Glacier, Antarctica and implications for the size of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet at the last glacial maximum. Quaternary Science Reviews, 83: 46-57 IdentifierJoy2014Relevancerank5
Atkins, C., A 2 million year glacial chronology of the Hatherton Glacier , [Joy2014]. Antarctica NZ, accessed 29/04/2026, https://adam.antarcticanz.govt.nz/nodes/view/63577, 10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.10.028